Hello welcome back the dan system!!!!
Yeah it's been a while since we can flex on that again. It comes with the option with or without flare which is so welcomed too. I think this is a good chance to review the 12th year of my DDR life.
Let's start with the challenges themselves shall we?
Lv17 Grand Master aka Kaiden aka A3 8-dan
Trip machine evolution(X3)
Possession(X2)
Fascination MAXX (SN)
Do you recall the one in A3? Rave Accelerator, Golden Arrow, Splash Gold and The History of the Future. The first three aren't very hard on paper (16.6, 16.2, 16.7 in 3icecream)
but the problem is that they are all very niche with niche gimmicks. Rave accelerator is unlocked by course trials with trip machine evolution(!!) like patterns; Golden Arrow is golden league exclusive as a rest song; Splash Gold is an extra exclusive with high speed mess. Even though The History of the Future is rated higher the streams are much more straightforward, allowing an easy clear if you reach the final stage. According to my thoughts in 2023, that was such a hard 8-dan comparing to previous versions.
And now? The one this year doesn't seem much easier. Trip machine evolution starts with the infamous trap, but it doubles down here if you use the real speed option: you are essentially playing in 0.5x speed since the opening speed is adjusted to your speed count. It doesn't help that there is no restings in the song either.
The new challenge has 1 song less, but this isn't really a favorable change if the easier songs are taken away. It is clear that in the new system the three songs always follow an increase in difficulty. Oh you have cleared a notorious 16? Welcome to the world of level 17. Possession is among the weakest lv17, but it's absolutely not easy to pass -- you have to waste stamina on all the jumps and there is no way around.
And Fascination MAXX? The classic 17 with a bit of everything, but probably not too much of a threat if you compare it against some newer mid-17.
In overall the two are quite similar in difficulty. The new one has one more 17, but the extra 16 in the old one is nasty. All three songs in the new one are physically demanding, but the old one consists of one more song. Now consider how A3 8-dan is relatively difficult vs past 8-dan, do you think the new GM challenge in general harder than the old 8-dan bar?
Lv18 Foot Dragon aka A3 9-dan
未完成ノ蒸氣驅動乙女(A20)
Come to m1dy(A3)
Paranoia revolution(X3)
Look at what the old 9-dan looks like: Digitalizer, 東京神話, Avengers ESP and Egoism 440 ESP. A very easy 17, a solid 17, a sweet 17 and an intro 18. This is, I would say, the easiest ever 9-dan. (Think about New Decade, Spanish Snowy Dance and FAXX CSP in A20+...)
These three are really solid choices. 未完成ノ蒸氣驅動乙女 is a high 17 with emphasize in tiring long streams. It's similar to Trip machine evolution -- a shocking opener for you.
I always have the illusion that Come to m1dy is a super easy 18 probably because it was lv17 and I defended that it is borderline not 100% necessary to be promoted to lv18. But when you enter the song expecting that to be easy, this is quite a fatal mistake. The rhythm is relatively simple yet it is a true BPM230 chart where you have to pay at least 70% attention.
...and the final stage is our good old friend. Much like its CSP counterpart, it has become a rather simple chart relative to its level. There's probably a reason why they picked this instead of more modern 18s as we will cover later, but it definitely makes the challenge much easier.
In overall, I would say the first two are solid picks with an easy finish. It is probably harder than A3 9-dan but no harder than the A20+ ones. The score also reflects that: a 756k score played very conservatively, comparing to a 680k in the challenge last time.
Lv19 Foot Legend aka A3 10-dan
Digitalizer(A20+)
New Millennium(A3)
Egoism 440(2014)
Hmmm why am I putting here? Well I think this is very well possible for me with some planning especially with the special HP gauge. Just look at the challenge last time: び, Hypertwist, Neutrino, Paranoia Revolution...I would prefer the current one much more.
Thoughts
- I don't know. Is it very stamina based? They want a lv17 challenge properly challenging you on lv17 tier stamina, and the same for lv18 and 19? Much less gimmicks and more on stream and voltage, if you know what I mean.
- They used the name 足龍 and 足神, referring to the names in groove radar back in DDR2013. That brings me back much of the memory! It's a pity that they do not apply more names over the new challenges. I would be happy to be called 足紙さま？. It also explains the title of U1's new song which I think is good on both song and chart.
- Have you noticed? All final stages of the higher challenges are considered the most significant/representative/boss stage songs in early stages of the game. Here is the list:
11 Paranoia
12 Paranoia Dirty mix
13 Afronova
14 Pluto
15 MAX 300
16 MAXX unlimited
17 FASCINATION MAXX
18 Paranoia Revolution
19 Egoism 440
That explains why Konmai picked Paranoia Revolution. Of course there are other boss like mid/mid-low lv18 charts back in the days that are not picked already. Mmmm how about Elemental Creation? But then it realized it was a tad too recent to be in the classic era. Oh well.
The 12th year
And what about me? I am doing well.
I am recently on the project to not only clearing lv13+ in full but also in Flare ranks. Lv13 and 18 are the only two left: Lv13 due to its massive size, and Lv18 because some are really darn hard. By repeatedly playing Lv18 F1 4 songs in a row I really improve on consistency when facing unfamiliar streams at the end when stamina is running out.
Think about Triple Journey -TAG EDITION-. 1 year ago it would have been something that I would pass and not play again. Now it's just a routine exercise. When I think about the ramping density, I was expecting more, but the stream at the end arrives sooner than I thought i.e. you are preserved more stamina than needed.
Funny enough, digitalizer and new millenium are both examples where progress is visible. Both are among the few charts that I failed on first try, both kept away as very hard charts. But now I can think about playing them without much pressure.
The gap between lv18 and lv19 has been so huge that it took me 6-7 years from start tackling lv18 to start tackling lv19. But I feel like I am now ready. Perhaps I will come back and write about my 13th year in DDR as a lv19 addict. Who knows?
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